Draft Terms of Reference
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TF-TANT Terms Of Reference 5/11/1998 1. The Task Force shall be known as TF-TANT (Testing of Advanced Networking Technologies). It shall be a joint activity between TERENA (Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association) and DANTE, the organisation which has the responsibility within the QUANTUM (QUAlity Network Technology for User-oriented Multimedia) project to manage the QUANTUM Test Programme, and shall be mentioned as such in all literature. 2. The aim of the Task Force shall be to determine the suitability of advanced networking technologies for the research community in Europe, with particular reference to backbone provision. It shall undertake the activities defined in the test programme of the QUANTUM Project, and other activities as agreed by the participants in the Task Force. Activities shall generally be restricted to technologies that operate at Layers 1-4 of the OSI reference model, with the exception of applications that directly support backbone service provision. 3. The Task Force shall primarily be composed of representatives of National Research Networks, but participation shall be open to any individual or representative of an organisation which can offer appropriate expertise, manpower, equipment or services. 4. DANTE and TERENA has appointed Christoph Graf as the chair of the Task Force. He shall be responsible for preparing the agenda of each meeting, and for coordinating the work of the Task Force. He shall also be responsible for ensuring that the Deliverables of the QUANTUM Test Programme are produced. 5. The Secretary of the Task Force shall be appointed by TERENA. He or she shall be responsible for taking the minutes at each meeting, and for making logistical arrangements as necessary. 6. The Task Force shall operate until 31 May 2000. Extension of this period needs the approval of the TERENA Technical Committee after consultations with the Chair of the TERENA Working Group on Lower Layer Technologies (WG-LLT) and DANTE. 7. The Task Force shall meet at approximately bi-monthly intervals (although this may be via telephone or video conference). Physical meetings must normally be held in locations that are within 2.5 hours by air from Amsterdam. The default venue shall be the TERENA Offices in Amsterdam. 8. Reports shall be produced for all defined activities. The results of the QUANTUM Test Programme are a contractual deliverable to the European Commission, but the results of all activities shall also be published as a TERENA Technical Report and in "DANTE in Print". All reports (including the QTP deliverable) shall be placed in the public domain. 9. The Task Force shall be party to all relevant technical information in the TERENA Technical Programme and the QUANTUM Project, subject to any confidentiality agreements that are in force. DANTE will work with its suppliers to ensure that all necessary information is available to the Task Force.
Contact: nep@dante.org.uk